Month: August 2015

I met pals of mine for dinner last evening and after being seated, I started a “Thanks for the memories” kinda thing. Frank said to me “Lee, you never talk about stuff like this; what gives?” I told him that since the accident I had discovered that I was afraid to drive again and that when I wrote yesterday’s post I found myself reviewing the past and wondering about the future and asked Frank if that stirred anything in his mind and the stories began to fly between Lee and Frank and John and Rob..

We usually meet at 6:00 PM on Wednesday evenings; we eat, we kid each other, we go to a fellowship meeting at seven. Last night we missed most of the meeting. Our gabfest was wonderful.

When bedtime came I skipped the painkillers and muscle relaxants and eased myself into bed. At 2:00 AM I awoke in agony. I couldn’t stop the pain. I called family member Betty who helped me to calm down emotionally and then called John and told him what was happening; he asked if I wanted to go to a hospital. “NOOOO” I screamed, “they’ll stick me in a bed which will be more painful.” And John began to talk.

By 3:30 I was calm and pain-free. Later this morning I heard from Steve. I had called him during his family trip to Maui last weekend and interrupted a family event; he and his brother were preparing to kayak out to visit a porpoise family. We had discussed gratitude and the affect that the accident had on the subject.

It was good to hear back from him. We spoke again of friends and family and I told him of my talks with John and Betty. As we parted company we discussed our families and the opportunity to share with others and yes I would look forward to his open house this coming weekend.

I’m using this day to prepare for court and I will join the dozens of family members later this evening who are currently gobbling turkey and enjoying each other’s company. We will visit over tea and leftover pie.

If you don’t enjoy your work, get a second job. The extra activity will add dollars to your wallet and give you a greater appreciation for the first job.

If you don’t enjoy the second job, get a third job to fill your weekends.

If you notice that you miss the stuff you did for fun on the weekend which is no longer yours and you reckon that the second job is better than you ever realized and that the first job was actually more fun than you realized when it was your only job, then QUIT.

That’s right, QUIT.

QUIT all three jobs. You’ve been working three jobs for a year now; you need a vacation.

While vacating, you think.

You are realizing that what you really disliked about your work was not the work; after all what you have been DOING is now a part of your BEING. What you disliked was the lack of freedom.

So now go get a volunteer job doing what you once did for a paycheck.

How does it feel?

You are part of a team. Do you like it? No?

Get another volunteer job where you are your own boss.

How does it feel?

If you feel more freedom as your own boss and you enjoy your work because it is more than a job description – it is a YOU description, then keep that volunteer job if you can and start your own business. Or invest. Or….

Learn to enjoy what you are doing while you are doing it; enjoy who you are on a daily basis because otherwise you will only enjoy the memories of who you once were.

Now get to work and remember to smile at everyone you greet even if it is only your reflection.